This week on the pod, Richard takes over hosting duties and he is joined by Football Radar's Anna Konovalova. Anna is a Moscow-native Spartak fan and an expert in Russian, German and Austrian football.Follow Anna on Twitter:@iamanch@FRFussballAnna@HexenkesselPod - Anna's pod on German football in RussianThus, the pair discuss the swathes of German …

This week on the pod, it's a red & white takeover as James is joined by Hanu & Alexey to discuss Spartak's second-ever European Group Table-Topping campaign before checking out the rest of the midweek European results.Hanu - @H4nuu & @PodcastWTIAlexey - @loonyspectreTimestamps00:00 - Intro04:15 - Spartak's Table-Topping European Campaign32:34 - Zen…

On David's last pod before his Christmas vacation, we take a look at what to expect from Tomas Zorn in his "new" role at Lokomotiv and ask whether or not Ralf Rangnick still exerts his influence at the club from afar. We also review all the latest in the RPL and take a look back at the FNL Winter part of the season as a whole with their break alrea…

This week, Rich returns as we all dissect the midweek European games involving Russian sides as Spartak defeat Napoli again. Then, we quickly look at Russia's opponents in the WC 2022 Playoffs draw before delving deep into Ralf Rangnick's time at Lokomotiv & impending move to Manchester United.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro03:05 - Malmo 1-1 Zenit14:11 - …

James & David focus on the Sbornaya Senior, U21 & U19 squads in an International Football special. We do dive into the RPL right at the end but as the last game week was almost 2 weeks ago now that is old hat, as David stans Karpin & Gladyshev for 20 minutes instead.Timestamps:Intro - 00:00Sbornaya - 01:10U21s - 18:17U19s - 37:18RPL Catch-Up - 43:4…

It was a mixed week in Europe this time out, as Zenit lost to Juve while Lokomotiv and Spartak drew with Galatasary and Leicester respectively away from home.We also take another look at the upcoming Russia squad and recap all of the RPL Round 13 Action from the last week.Also, apologies for James' sore throat this week, blame him for going to two …

James & Richard deep-dive into the big game of the weekend as Zenit defeated Spartak 7-1 & covered the rest of the RPL games before exploring the gargantuan 41-man Russia squad.Timestamps:00:57 - Zenit 7-1 Spartak25:01 - CSKA 3-1 Krylia34:50 - Akhmat 1-0 Ural38:59 - Dinamo v Zenit Preview47:06 - Karpin's 41-man Squad59:51 - Russian Cup Next Round01…

We look back at a d disappointing week in Europe as Spartak lost 4-3 to Leicester, Zenit fell 1-0 to a late Dejan Kulusevski goal for Juve and Lokomotiv also conceded late in a 1-0 loss against Galatasary. We also unpack all the RPL action from last weekend.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:31 - Spartak 3-4 Leicester19:18 - Zenit 0-1 Juventus33:36 …

This week, we discuss the Russia games, Richard writes a biography of Markus Gisdol, David waxes lyrical about some players nobody has heard of before and James forgets how league tables work in a hectic end to the pod. Timestamps:00:00 - Intro02:20 - Russia 1-0 Slovakia14:34 - Slovenia 1-2 Russia25:02 - Russia U21 Matches32:38 - Markus Gisdol in a…

James & David cover all the latest goings-on in Russian Football, mainly Lokomotiv & Marko Nikolic parting ways, analysing a weekend of upsets in the RPL before discussing the cavalcade of changes that engulfed Valery Karpin's Russia squad in the past two weeks.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:18 - Nikolic Leaves Loko23:03 - Loko 1-2 Rostov28:27 -…

This week, James & David are joined by Hanu from the Whatever This Is Podcast to discuss all the midweek European games involving Russian clubs.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:10 - Zenit 4-0 Malmo18:05 - Napoli 2-3 Spartak43:18 - Lazio 2-0 Loko01:00:46 - Russia U21s & RPL Keepers01:10:00 - OutroRFN Socials:Twitter - @RusFootballNewsInstagram - ru…

We return to the top of the RPL this week to discuss the biggest games from last weekend's action, including CSKA's victory in the Main-Moscow Derby. We also cast an eye over Zenit's victory over Rubin, Dynamo's defeat of Sochi and the latest Russian National Team squad. Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01 30 - Sochi v Dynamo18:25 - Rubin v Zenit29:0…

Attention turns to European matters this week, as the UCL & UEL Group Stages return. We have fingers in more pies than a leper in a cookery class as Zenit travelled to Chelsea while Spartak & Lokomotiv hosted Legia and Marseille in Moscow respectively. We'll discuss all of that including a special guest appearance at the end.Timestamps:00:00 - Intr…

After taking our own short international break last week we are reconvening here to discuss all three of Russia’s recent WC qualifying games - the first three under new boss Valery Karpin. Then, take a look at how the U21s faired in their two games & ahead of the return of the RPL this weekend and after deadline day yesterday shall summarise the en…

On this week's pod, we record earlier than scheduled - with the RPL games brought forward to Thursday & Friday at the behest of Valery Karpin in order to have more training time with his Sbornaya squad in the upcoming international break. We discuss all the latest RPL action as Dynamo top the league for the first time in years, get all the latest l…

This week on the pod, we discuss the squads for both the Sbornaya and U21 teams for the upcoming national break - the first under new boss Valery Karpin. Recap all the latest in the RPL before rounding off with a quick look over the Hypercube Reform proposals.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:30 - Karpin's First Sbornaya Squad14:10 - U21 Squad23:45…

This week, the pod team explore all the European fixtures that involved Russian sides (spoilers, it was as disappointing as you'd expect) before rounding up all the RPL action and summer news from those we missed out on last week.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:03 - Partizan Belgrade v Sochi07:30 - Rubin Kazan v Rakow Czestochowa17:40 - Benfica v…

First of all, apologies for a no-show last week as some very late emergencies came up & made recording in time for the Friday RPL games impossible.But we are back this week to discuss all the recent RPL action, cast over who Sochi & Rubin were drawn against in the Europa Conference League and discuss the Valery Karpin debacle as he is given the Sbo…

The RFN Pod team reconvenes just in time for the new season, as we are back just in time for some RPL and European Conference League action. We cast an eye over Sochi's 3-0 win in their Europa Conference League Second Qualification Round First Leg victory over Kesla. The FNL also started two weeks ago but due to some various vacation commitments un…

This week, James & David are joined by a special guest. That guest is none other than the former Editor-in-Chief of RFN - the Great Dane himself - Toke Theilade. The pair discuss Russia's Euros in general, focus on the 4-1 defeat to Denmark, and the emotional impact of Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest & subsequent recovery upon the Danish nation …

First of all, apologies for the technical issues. Luckily we got to the crux of the issue, but could not unfortunately salvage James' track, which is still suffering from some distortion.Russia finally secured their first win at a European Championships since 2012 with a well-controlled 1-0 victory over Finland. Aleksey Miranchuk was the difference…

We're back for the Euros, as James & Rich are joined by Ben Jackson of the Belgian Football Podcast to review the opening match of Group B for Russia, as they lost 3-0 at home to Belgium in St Petersburg. Follow Ben @benjack94 and the Belgian Football Podcast @BelgianPodcast on Twitter!Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction04:50 - Review of Russia 0-3 Bel…

This week, James, David & Rich celebrate the end of the RPL 2020/21 season by selecting our individual team of best players.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:31 - Goalkeeper08:20 - Defence29:10 - Central Midfield37:05 - Attacking Midfield58:34 - Forwards1:08:01 - News in Brief & OutroRFN Socials:Twitter - @RusFootballNewsInstagram - rusfootballnews…

James & David reconvene to evaluate this season's best FNL players, handing out some awards and discussing who else impressed over the course of the year.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:30 - Player of the Season06:46 - Player of the Season who is not Ivan Sergeev15:12 - Young Player of the Season26:10 - Manager of the Season32:48 - Biggest Surpri…

This week, James, David & Rich celebrate the end of the RPL 2020/21 season by handing out our various awards of the season, both good and bad. Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:58 - Player of the Season07:29 - Young Player of the Season15:12 - Manager of the Season29:58 - Surprise (Player or Team) of the Season40:23 - Best Signing46:00 - Worst Sign…

This week on the pod, James, David and Rich analyse the Cup of Russia final as Lokomotiv won their 4th in just the last 6 years, cast an eye over the latest Russia squads both at a senior and U21 level and look ahead to the final game week of the season with two European spots and one automatic relegation place still to be determined.Timestamps:00:…

This week on the pod, James, David and Rich celebrate Zenit's third RPL title victory in a row, take a look at the debacle surrounding the FNL promotion race as only one of the top six were granted an RPL license and finish off discussing the rumours around Spartak's potential new head coach, with Rui Vitoria the current frontrunner.Timestamps:00:0…

This week on the RFN Podcast, the usual team discussed the race for the final European spot, as Rubin, Sochi, CSKA and Dynamo all sit level on 46 points as they battle for Conference League qualification. Then, we explore all the recent games in the FNL before finishing off with a deep-dive into Ufa's recent semi-resurgence under Aleksei Stukalov.T…

In a bumper episode of the pod, we explore some more eclectic aspects of football of late. RPL action took place as usual at the weekend, but midweek we also saw the Cup of Russia semi-finals and the world has been gripped by the Super League controversy.To cover all that and more are James Nickels, Richard Pike, and Misha Polenov of Match TV.Times…

This week on the RFN Podcast, the usual team take stock of the entire RPL. With 5 games left to go in the season, we run down how the sides in the respective league battles are fairing. Before finishing David and Richard run down some recent FNL action and then James runs down the big news of the week.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction00:50 - Zenit ru…

This week, James and David are joined by none other than the voice of Russian Football in English, Alexey Yaroshevsky. We go through all the weekend's action, including the twin resignations of Rashid Rakhimov and Murad Musaev, the latter's replacement at Krasnodar in the shape of a certain Viktor Goncharenko, the Race for Europe, Lokomotiv's resur…

We round-up the international break this week, taking a look at Russia's latest World Cup Qualifiers as Artem Dzyuba nears Aleksandr Kherzhakov's goal record & David monologues about Russian U21 football for 4 hours. We also discuss the burgeoning talent of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the rest of the world begins to take notice, before finishing off w…

On the latest RFN Podcast, the RPL takes a break as we take a look at Russia's 3-1 over Malta in World Cup 2022 Qualifying, cast our eyes over the future of the National Team as Russia U21s fly out the blocks in their opening game of the U21 European Championships, we cover the usual FNL action and then finish off with some domestic coverage as CSK…

On this week's pod, James, Richard & Hanu catch up on the latest RPL action - casting an eye over the title battle, race for Europe and relegation. Then, the trio analyses Stani Cherchesov's latest Russia squad before delving into your questions in the latest Mailbag, including reform, exciting youngsters, doping in Russia and BLM.Timestamps:00:00 …

This week on the Russian Football News Podcast, the usual team casts their eye over the two big games from the weekend as Spartak demolished Krasnodar 6-1 and Rubin Kazan surprised league leaders Zenit with a 2-1 victory at home. They also cover Dynamo and CSKA's victories over Tambov and AKhmat respectively, before rounding off with a review of al…

This week, the regular team are joined by long-time RFN writer, Lokomotiv expert and meme extraordinaire Ilya Sokolov to discuss the return to action in the RPL, drop-down a tier to case an eye over FNL action before analysing the recent sexism controversy surrounding Andrei Kobelev.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:09 - Loko's derby loco12:11 - Za…

On the next RFN Podcast, we take a look over the big transfer news of the winter as Quincy Promes returns to Spartak, highlight Krylia Sovetov's impressive 4-0 win over Khimki to remain in the cup as the sole lower-league representatives, cast an eye over the Tambov winter crisis and analyse how they will remain in the RPL before then rounding out …

On the latest RFN Podcast, James, David and Richard cast their minds back to the first half of the FNL season, and review all the action. After that, the trio previews Krasnodar's upcoming Europa League knockout match against Dinamo Zagreb.Timestamps00:00 - Introduction01:40 - FNL Winter Transfers09:50 - Veles Firesale14:20 - Krylia's Title Charge?…

This week on the RFN Podcast, we return after our very own winter break as the RPL is about to return. Before it does, however, we get together to vote for our RPL Team of the Autumn from 2020/21.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:19 - Goalkeeper17:23 - Right Back25:30 - Central Defence41:50 - Left Back44:45 - Defensive Midfield51:57 - Attacking Mid…

This week on the RFN Podcast, we cover the last two game weeks of RPL action, including Zenit's 3-1 win over Spartak, Krasnodar thrashing Loko 5-0, Chalov scoring a hattrick and Khimki continuing their unbeaten run. Then we finish off by digging deep into the financial crisis enveloping Russian football as a result of the Coivd-19 pandemic.Timestam…

This week on the RFN Podcast, we look back at the final round of UCL Group Stage Fixtures, including Krasnodar's impressive 1-1 draw with Chelsea in London, then move onto recapping the latest in the RPL, cast our eyes over some crazy stories regarding Ramzan Kadyrov and finish off by unpacking the long and tumultuous Shamil Gazizov saga at Spartak…

After almost an entire year, we finally have another win in the Champions League group stages as Krasnodar defeated Rennes at home on Wednesday evening. However, elsewhere Loko lost against Red Bull Salzburg and are effectively eliminated, while Zenit were trounced by Brugge.The RPL also hots up this week with three sides level at the top, Ufa pull…

This week on the Russian Football News Podcast, James & David are joined by none other than Match TV Commentator, Pundit and Broadcaster Mikhail Polenov. The trio discusses the return of European Football since our last regular podcast, and it’s been quite the week.Lokomotiv battled hard to another brilliant result, drawing 0-0 away in Madrid, whil…

In our Fourth European Preview Special Episode of the RFN Podcast, your host James Nickels sits down with Rob van Elewout of the Kein Geloel Podcast to preview the upcoming Europa League game between CSKA Moscow and Feyenoord.RFN Socials:Twitter - @RusFootballNewsInstagram - rusfootballnewsYoutube - Russian Football NewsEmail - russianfootballnews1…

This week on the RFN Podcast, James Nickels, David Sansun and Richard Pike deep dive into one of Russia's worst and most embarrassing games in their recent history, the 5-0 loss to Serbia, and ask whether or not this should result in the end of Stanislav Cherchesov's tenure as team manager? We then open the RFN Mailbag once again, answering all you…

On this week's RFN Podcast, James Nickels, Artem Makarevitch and Hanu Trivedi discuss Stani Cherchesov's team selection against Moldova and analyse Russia's 0-0 draw, look back at the RPL's crazy weekend including that certain Dzyuba incident, thrashings and surprise results & finish off with some Mid-Season Awards.Timestamps:01:47 - Moldova 0-0 Ru…

On Episode #76 of the RFN Podcast, your regular podcast team discusses all the latest in the three UCL games, and as we've missed out on some of CSKA's European exploits due to scheduling conflict's, focus on them as they top the RPL for the first time since September 2019.Timestamps:01:30 - Loko's excellent draw with Atletico19:26 - Zenit's Europe…

In our Third European Preview Special Episode of the RFN Podcast, your host James Nickels sits down with Ricky Menendez of both Esto es Atleti, a weekly podcast on all things Los Rojiblancos, and Maneras De Vivir, a weekly Atleti radio show.We preview the Loko v Atleti game on Tuesday and discuss what the longer-term UCL aspirations are of each sid…

This week on the RFN Podcast, regulars James Nickels, David Sansun & Richard Pike deep dive into this week's European fixtures, including Loko's auspicious and gutsy performance against Bayern, Zenit stumbling to a 2-0 loss to Dortmund, a depleted Krasnodar shooting themselves in the foot against Chelsea and CSKA's inability to score v Dinamo Zagre…

In this special episode of the RFN Podcast, your usual host James Nickels sat down with Rob Pratley and Kirill Belskiy of SW6Daily to preview Krasnodar v Chelsea from the away sides' perspective. We discussed the Blues' European hopes for the season, Frank Lampard's first year and a bit as boss before deep-diving into the game and Roman Abramovich'…